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"People know Mosul's Old City by its riverfront - it has some of the city's most important historic features," Fethi added, referring to the city's old wall, the citadel, palaces and other heritage sites along the Tigris' west bank.
"It [the council] should aim to preserve Mosul's heritage rather than turn [it] into another Dubai ... an absolute anathema to what should be done."
— Al Jazeera
Two years after Iraqi forces regained full control of Mosul from ISIL, local authorities are pushing a proposal to transform historic neighborhoods along the west bank of the Tigris river into a modernized “new city”, with high rises, large supermarkets and restaurant chains. Al Jazeera... View full entry
Parker Center, the controversial building that housed the Los Angeles Police Department for over 50 years, is officially no more.
Yesterday, the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Engineering announced that above-ground demolition of the eight-story building is now complete. The process, which began in August 2018, is expected to proceed through the end of 2019.
— Urbanize Los Angeles
"The site will be home to a new building, the Los Angeles Street Civic Building, which will house hundreds of City employees that are currently in more remote locations and in rental space," wrote the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering in a statement published yesterday. Urbanize LA reports... View full entry
When the so-called House of the Century rose from the swampy earth back in the early 1970s, it arrived as a vision of the future, a biomorphic experiment in modern living. Back then it was a bright white jumble on the shoreline, and depending on your angle of approach, it looked like either a man's erect genitalia or a giant schnoz.
Today, this futuristic house is a decaying relic of the past, and its future is a subject of concern and conjecture.
— Dallas News
Though Ant Farm, the experimental architecture firm founded by Doug Michels and Chip Lord in 1968, is not among the most well known firms of that era, they produced a number of projects both famous and deserving of fame. They are perhaps best known for their early experiments with inflatable... View full entry
The city’s early building code had more of a tear-down mentality where every project had to comply with the new construction code. The rehab code that was introduced in 1983 did recognize that rehab projects had some distinct differences and did not need to fully meet new construction standards. — Urban Land
The city of Chicago is comprised of close to 500,000 buildings. Filled with many historic and influential structures, Chicago is a mecca for architectural historians and enthusiasts. In April, the city adopted a new series of building codes which will allow for better building reuse and... View full entry
A plan for the future of the historic Little Havana neighborhood was released Tuesday after two years of preparation. The "Little Havana Me Importa" effort launched in 2017 after the neighborhood was named a national treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Since then, more than 2,700 residents have given their input about the future of their neighborhood through workshops and surveys. The collaboration is being led by PlusUrbia, the National Trust and private sector developers. — wlrn.org
An ambitious plan to revitalize Miami's historically significant Little Havana neighborhood was unveiled last week during a local launch event. Over 2,700 residents who participated in a survey indicated that they want more affordable housing and parks, and fewer building demolitions. The plan... View full entry
All over town, buildings sit empty, somehow unused despite a fierce shortage of housing and a long-running development boom that has transformed long-quiet patches of the city into hot property. [...]
Some are better kept than others. Some have more prestigious addresses. But each is a puzzle unto its own.
— Boston Globe
Boston Globe reporter Tim Logan investigates the factors behind Boston's many vacant buildings — despite a booming real estate market. "Even crumbling and empty buildings serve a purpose in a new Boston where so much is shiny and fresh," writes Logan. View full entry
Fifteen months ago the Miami City Commission shot down a recommendation to make the Babylon, the first multifamily building designed by renowned Miami firm Arquitectonica (and its second project ever), a historically protected building.
As a result, the 37-year-old Babylon [...] will be demolished sometime before July.
— Biscayne Times
Telling the history of the building and Miami's Brickell neighborhood, Biscayne Times senior writer Erik Bojnansky explains that "in 1978, Arquitectonica was still an up-and-coming Coral Gables firm. Babylon was its second building, the first being the 6900-square-foot single-family home known as... View full entry
The IHPC said it would use a comprehensive study performed by Indiana Landmarks in 2016 that identified 104 historic properties with LGBTQ significance. The historic preservation group’s criteria in compiling the list included civil rights, arts, health, businesses, residences, events, organizations, and name affiliations. — Indianapolis Business Journal
The move to imbed consideration of LGBTQ sites of historical significance in future planning efforts makes Indianapolis a pioneer for LGBTQ preservation in the country. The city is currently working to update all of its 17 historic area plans and will now move to include the recommendations from... View full entry
After spending months idled on the real estate market, José Oubrerie's Miller House in Kentucky exchanged hands twice in late 2018. As noted on real estate website Zillow, the home sold in September 2018 for $415,000, significantly lower than the $490,000 sale that had taken place just one... View full entry
The new owners of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed cottage in north suburban Glencoe have formally requested permission to tear down the 106-year-old home, a village official confirmed Wednesday.
Wright, widely considered America’s greatest architect, designed the Sherman Booth Cottage, a flat-roofed, one-story frame house, in 1913. It served as a temporary home for Booth, who developed the architect’s Ravine Bluffs neighborhood in Glencoe, including Booth’s permanent home.
— Chicago Tribune
"If the Booth cottage were to be demolished, it would mark the second time in two years that a building by Wright had been torn down," writes Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin. "The Village of Glencoe has indicated that the demolition permit application is incomplete," reports the Frank... View full entry
Should a modern democracy preserve an architecture and landscape designed to glorify the 20th century’s most infamous dictator? And, if the answer is yes, how?
The city of Nuremberg has grappled with these questions for years. It is now about to embark on an €85m plan to conserve the vast Nazi party rally grounds designed by Adolf Hitler’s architect Albert Speer.
— The Art Newspaper
The enormous former Nazi party rally complex, with its Zeppelin Grandstand centerpiece, has been decaying for decades but—preserved and presented in the appropriate manner—could serve as a highly relevant educational landmark. "We won’t rebuild, we won’t restore, but we will... View full entry
The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts was designed by architect Harry Weese, with the surrounding landscape by Dan Kiley, and was completed in 1969. [...]
In December 2018, the Center announced an overhaul of the cultural venue, the culmination of a months-long strategic planning process. However, the proposal drew backlash for its insensitve treatment of the Dan Kiley-designed landscape.
— Docomomo US
At the center of the historic designation discussion is the planned replacement of the 36 horse chestnut trees in front of the Marcus Center with a lawn bordered by 18 honey locust trees. "Preservationists said removing the trees would harm the legacy of grove designer Dan Kiley, whose other... View full entry
Heritage experts warn that restoring Notre Dame de Paris after the devastating fire of 15 April will be so complex that it could take a decade or more, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to “rebuild the cathedral more beautiful than ever” within five years. — The Art Newspaper
While President Emmanuel Macron has an obvious political interest in reopening the severely damaged Notre Dame Cathedral for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, experts call for patience and reject improbable deadlines. Notre Dame's north rose window dates back to around 1250. Image: Wikipedia.A... View full entry
Conceived to handle fewer than 200,000 passengers, the replacement Penn Station is today the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere, through which more than 600,000 commuters pass each day — an experience as humiliating and bewildering as Grand Central remains inspiring and exalted. — The New York Times
NYT architecture critic Michael Kimmelman takes a look back at the triumphal arrival of the former Pennsylvania Station by McKim, Mead & White in 1910, its steady decline in the following decades, the consequential replacement with the current solution—a disappointing product of mid-century... View full entry
Though buildings are often symbols of permanence, as it may lend itself to the status of an icon for a city or an heirloom for a family, they can be rendered obsolete at any moment. According to Ruin and Redemption in Architecture, Dan Barasch's newest book published by Phaidon Books, abandoned... View full entry
